The invention relates to monitoring the function of an electrochemical gas sensor.
Many work place and production environments are monitored for the presence of potentially dangerous gas mixtures. Electrochemical gas sensors are often used to detect the presence of one or more gases in an environment. Electrochemical gas sensors usually give an electrical response that is proportional to the concentration of the gas being detected. Electrochemical gas sensors include an electrochemical cell that includes a sensing electrode (which is also referred to as the working electrode), a counter electrode and an electrolyte. Some electrochemical cells also include a third electrode that is referred to as the reference electrode. An external voltage is applied to the reference electrode to bias the redox reaction. During cell operation, when a gas dissolves into the electrolyte, an oxidation reaction occurs at one electrode and a reduction reaction occurs at the other electrode. This is referred to as the “redox” reaction. Electrons flow from the oxidizing electrode to the reducing electrode. This electron flow (i.e., electrical current) is then measured, which measurement is then translated into the concentration of gas detected.
Electrochemical cells eventually fail due to a variety of causes including, e.g., the electrolyte drying up, the electrolyte becoming contaminated, and the electrodes becoming physically disconnected. In many cases, the failure goes unnoticed. Unfortunately, in many cases when failure occurs no current flows, which is the same thing that occurs when no gas is present in the system. In addition, in many failure situations, the cell becomes unresponsive to the target gas, i.e., the gas that the cell was designed to detect. As a result, the signal produced as a result of a failure is the same signal that is produced when no gas is being detected (i.e., no current flow), and for this reason the failure may go undetected.
Various mechanisms are used to address the fact that electrochemical cells fail. In some cases, the cell has a fixed service life or a limited lifetime and the user simply disposes of the cell after a predetermined period of time and replaces it with a new one, regardless of whether or not the cell is still functioning. Some electrochemical cells are equipped with a gas generating cell that operates in reverse of the electrochemical cell. Rather than generating a redox current when gas is applied, it generates gas when current is applied. The gas generating cell is actuated periodically to determine the viability of the sensing cell. Other techniques rely on a calibration of the cell at fixed time intervals or a “bump” test. A bump test typically involves exposing the electrochemical cell to a test gas mixture for a period of time sufficient to activate the warning alarms and/or other modes of display that indicate that the instrument is responding correctly to the gas. The bump test is usually quicker than a calibration, but it still involves the expense of both time and test gas mixtures.
Many methods for testing electrochemical cells involve applying a DC test signal using a dedicated circuit, i.e., a circuit whose sole function is to generate and send the test signal. The dedicated test circuit is separate from the circuit that biases the electrochemical cell. Examples of such test circuits are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,428,684 (Warburton).
It would be desirable to have a simple test that can be performed automatically without human intervention for determining whether or not an electrochemical cell is functioning properly. It would also be desirable if such a test could be performed without interrupting the gas detection function of the sensor and by the existing circuitry of the electrochemical gas sensor.